TRACTOR PARTS Allis Chalmers Case & David Brown Farmall & International Ferguson Ford & New Holland John Deere Massey Ferguson Massey Harris Minneapolis Moline Oliver & Cockshutt Kubota / Yanmar

TRACTOR MANUALS

Allis Chalmers	Case	Farmall IH	Ford 8N,9N,2N	Ford
Ferguson	John Deere	Massey Ferguson	Minn. Moline	Oliver

Harry Ferguson Tractors Discussion Forum

At the risk of starting a war...

Welcome Guest, Log in or Register

Author

Mark Kothe

07-01-2005 05:59:12

Report to Moderator

Here we go.

I think Harry built a great tractor (TO20), but why did he paint it all grey, like a battleship?

Anyone ever paint one other than all grey that they are willing to admit to? Pictures would be great. You may send them directly to me at mark@apratech.org if you prefer not to post them. I'll keep your identity private so we are not ridiculed off this site. Might be too late for me now though! BIG grin!

Sorry, all my other tractors are a little more colorful. I guess I could paint it all grey, but ...

Mark

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

Don H

07-02-2005 02:05:33

Report to Moderator

Re: At the risk of starting a war... in reply to Mark Kothe, 07-01-2005 05:59:12

Mt Tea-20 is painted caterpillar yellow sure brightens the place up a bit and is easy to see.

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

Jerry/MT

07-01-2005 22:03:48

Report to Moderator

Re: At the risk of starting a war... in reply to Mark Kothe, 07-01-2005 05:59:12

Heck, mine is painted in Massey Ferguson colors (red over grey metallic) and it's such a poor paint job that the old Ferguson gray shows where the grey metallic peels off. But I don't mind.

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

WBinPA

07-01-2005 19:39:55

Report to Moderator

Re: At the risk of starting a war... in reply to Mark Kothe, 07-01-2005 05:59:12

Mine was JD green and yellow when I bought it. It runs OK 'tho. Previous owner wanted a JD 420 and sold the Fergie when he could afford one.

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

Paul in AZ

07-01-2005 12:32:38

Report to Moderator

Re: At the risk of starting a war... in reply to Mark Kothe, 07-01-2005 05:59:12

Harry Ferguson was frugal, almost to a fault at times. He was an engineer, not a designer. As such, colors meant nothing to him. Whether or not he got a good price on a batch of battleship gray paint we don't know.

Harry was long opposed to the building of the TO-35. When it came out it had a green belly. He even objected to that.

As far as what color to paint your tractor - paint it whatever color suits your fancy and don't apologize for it.

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

JERRYDOYON

07-01-2005 11:50:02

Report to Moderator

Re: At the risk of starting a war... in reply to Mark Kothe, 07-01-2005 05:59:12

Mark,
Mine is red on the bottom like a Ford 8N, but the fenders and hood sheet metal is proper gray.... bought it that way. However my son wants me to paint a flame job on it. Having restored old cars for years and had one street rod truck, has me thinking of it. I used to be a purist on restorations, but these days I do it more for fun. On a trip to New Mexico a year ago I saw a 8N that was all yellow with a yellow on yellow flame job... really looked great! So I figure mine needs allot of Sheet metal work and when I do it, I will paint my metal blue with a yellow flame job... and maybe yellow wheels too. That'll surely get a few comments and chuckles. Besides I want to use the same color blue as my 77 Ford Pick-up. This will give me practice for that restoration, since I haven't painted of a while.

I have an older friend who has taken to mechanically restoring old tractors and then repainting them differently from original, then reselling them. I have seen him with all kinds of combinations of color... but they still sell quickly. His recent was a Massey Harris, which he painted red with a JD yellow grill and wheels. That sold in only 3 days. So I suppose it is all in what you like. Won't make it any less a Fergie! Have fun with it!

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

Delbert from Lincoln

07-01-2005 11:25:13

Report to Moderator

Re: At the risk of starting a war... in reply to Mark Kothe, 07-01-2005 05:59:12

I too have heard that Mr. Ferguson got a good deal on a big batch of battleship grey paint. Mark, its your tractor-paint it any color you like or your wife likes. Anybody that doesn"t like it can turn their head and not look.

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

Ray from Idaho

07-01-2005 06:31:01

Report to Moderator

Re: At the risk of starting a war... in reply to Mark Kothe, 07-01-2005 05:59:12

I think Harry got a really good buy on a bunch of surplus paint after the war. I'll bet money that John (UK) will know the true reason they are gray. Because he was the little guy fighting the giants he had to do whatever he could to make a go of it, and I think he did a great job. By the way, my TO20 is red and gray like a Massy Ferguson and I like it just fine. That is the way I bought it. It is a working tractor not a show piece.

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

John (UK)

07-01-2005 13:57:07

Report to Moderator

Re: At the risk of starting a war... in reply to Ray from Idaho, 07-01-2005 06:31:01

If you think back to BEFORE the war, the Ford tractor with Ferguson system was painted Grey, maybe a different shade to the genuine article but Grey. Somewhere I have some information about that paint that a lot think he bought from the government, well sorry guys it wasn't true.I believe the supplier was a company called Titanine who no longer exist having been swallowed up by another company. I will try to find the actual article and print it here for you. Now that is going to be a task for me to find that new! Have a good weekend all!

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

Roy in UK

07-02-2005 05:26:49

Report to Moderator

Re: At the risk of starting a war... in reply to John (UK), 07-01-2005 13:57:07

I wonder if it was Harry Ferguson persuaded Fords to paint it grey? after all the first Ferguson production tractor, the type A or "Ferguson Brown " as it came to be known, was grey too. The First Ferguson of all i.e.the prototype was painted all black!

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

John (UK)

07-02-2005 06:18:50

Report to Moderator

Re: At the risk of starting a war... in reply to Roy in UK, 07-02-2005 05:26:49

That black tractor was just a one-off so it didn't really matter, The story goes that he wanted to paint the Ferguson-Brown black as well but his production team persuaded him otherwise from a marketing point and he would only settle for the grey as he was very modest in everything and wouldn't have anything too bright. As far as Ford goes I have never heard one way or the other as to why they painted that grey too, maybe it was something to distinguish the Ferguson System from everything else.

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

Roy in UK

07-02-2005 07:44:30

Report to Moderator

Re: At the risk of starting a war... in reply to John (UK), 07-02-2005 06:18:50

Yes I realise there was only the one built, I believe it is in the science museum in London.

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

John (UK)

07-02-2005 08:14:46

Report to Moderator

Re: At the risk of starting a war... in reply to Roy in UK, 07-02-2005 07:44:30

Yes it is in the science museum,maybe worth a look next time you are down there

[Log in to Reply] [No Email]

[Options] [Printer Friendly] [Posting Help] [Return to Forum] [Log in to Reply]

TRACTOR PARTS	TRACTOR MANUALS

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]

Home | Forums

Copyright © 1997-2023 Yesterday's Tractor Co.
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy

TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters

Website Accessibility Policy